Some U.S. water systems are cutting back on fluoride because of a key chemical is in short supply. Israel is one of its main producers.

State officials and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are facing criticism for a lack of information following a Friday jet fuel spill that contaminated the Flint River, which provides drinking water to 400,000 people south of Atlanta and in central Georgia.

Tasked with charting out water management practices to meet future needs, the Coastal Georgia Regional Water Planning Council met in early December to begin taking these and other new realities into account in its planning.

United States Geological Survey data indicates a 2-foot increase in Savannah area following the paper mill's shutdown

An hour drive southwest of Atlanta, the city of LaGrange is next to a 25,000-acre reservoir, West Point Lake, supplying drinking water, boating and fishing to the region.

Federal rules to reduce the levels of "forever chemicals" in drinking water are getting delayed.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed the addition of fluoride — a common, naturally occurring mineral — for a host of health issues. The CDC says the policy has reduced cavities by some 25%.

A new study suggests a link between high levels of fluoride and lowered IQ. It's heating up arguments over fluoridating drinking water, which dentists say is critical for protecting teeth.

Water utilities across the country will have to comply with EPA limits on "forever chemicals" in drinking water by 2029. Orange County, Calif., got a head start.

Even before EPA issued the first ever drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals last month, state and local water officials in Coastal Georgia were monitoring for and making plans to address these “forever chemicals.”

Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency announced new drinking water standards to limit people's exposure to some PFAS chemicals. For decades, PFAS have been used to waterproof and stain-proof a variety of consumer products. These "forever chemicals" in a host of products — everything from raincoats and the Teflon of nonstick pans to makeup to furniture and firefighting foam. Because PFAS take a very long time to break down, they can accumulate in humans and the environment. Now, a growing body of research is linking them to human health problems like serious illness, some cancers, lower fertility and liver damage. Science correspondent Pien Huang joins the show today to talk through this new EPA rule — what the threshold for safe levels of PFAS in tap water is, why the rule is happening now and how the federal standards will be implemented.

Read more of Pien's reporting on the EPA's first ever rule on PFAS in drinking water.

Want to hear more about health and human safety? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we might cover your question on a future episode!

PFAS chemicals have been used for decades to waterproof and stain-proof consumer products and are linked to health problems.

The Windy City has the most lead pipes of any U.S. city. A study estimates that more than two-thirds of children there are exposed to lead in their home tap water.

Most cities would have to replace lead water pipes within 10 years under new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency aimed to prevent like the ones in Flint, Mich. and Washington, D.C.

Drinking water in Columbus contains traces of toxic chemical compounds, commonly referred to as ‘forever chemicals’, slightly above proposed federal standards.